Senator: Duplicate IMEI’s Smuggled Phones Are Being Used for Cyber Crimes

Having same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), thousands of smuggled phones are seized which are being used in cyber crimes and other terrorist activities in country. Senator Rehman Malik revealed this case in the Senate Standing Committee on IT&T which met with Rubina Khalid in the chair last Thursday.

Rehman Malik said this is a serious security threat. He added, “Many mobile handsets with same IMEI are importing in country making it difficult for Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) to arrest someone and fix the responsibility”.

The committee is directed to get reported in the next meeting by Ministry of IT&T and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Senator Rehman Malik enquired about the agreement under which International Clearing House Exchange (ICHE) was created and asked about the beneficiaries of it. He questioned on its scrapped and emphasized to submit a comprehensive report to Committee comprehending calculation of the losses and review it via an international auditing company.

He asked about the details of concessions given to Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia due to which Pakistan has lost billions of dollars in revenue because of this practice.

Chairperson of the Committee suggested to have a joint meeting to resolve the issue as Committee of Interior and Committee of IT are facing simultaneous issues. Emphasized was given to enhance the legislation to deal with these issues effectively.

Regarding tax issues on mobile cards/loads, the committee questioned the Ministry for non-implementation of its directives.

This meeting was attended by Senator Rehman Malik, Senator Ghous Muhammad Khan Niazi, Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, Senator Sana Jamali and other senior officers from the Ministry of IT, Ministry of Law & Justice and the FIA.